Friday Favorites. 5 February 2016.

We survived another week! Why is it that I always feel this way by Friday? I know, that’s kind of pathetic but I’m keeping it real. We, (that’s my husband and oldest) are headed out of town to visit another college on the potential list. I neglected to realize it was THIS weekend. So out and back and then home for the super bowl by Sunday. Do you host a party or attend one? I normally host our dear friends but didn’t make plans knowing we would be out of town and with my training I highly doubt I will make it past the half-time show. 44 is the new 80 lol.

So without further adieu… here’s my favorites list I’m crushing on currently.

First, I’m going to start out with running items. I recently had the opportunity to work with a running expert in his field and he was giving me some advice on running sneakers. My stats: I’m a neutral runner. Normal arch. I’m 5’6″ tall and weigh around 117-118 lbs. Narrow feet. My legs are straight not bowed and I average 55-65 miles per week. I do suffer from severe knee pain and hey like every runner out there IT band pain when I foam roll.

After much discussion about form and function – he gave me two recommendations. One was the Nike Pegasus. Now I will be very honest…. I love Nike but do not like them for running. I wore them in college when I played field hockey and after 3 knee surgeries – I was done. I reluctantly tried them and was in love. Seriously. They were great. I tested them out with a 9 mile treadmill run and had NO issues. My indicators I look for other than feel/comfort: sound of my foot striking (if it’s loud —- they’re a no-go) and my knees (pain either during or afterwards). I then wore them for two other runs, both 9-12 mile distance and felt the same love. I found this Flash model on sale and love the reflectivity of them. In normal light they are totally black.
In regular light.

The second pair that came recommended to me by two people (one the expert) and the other my friend Christina, The Athletarian were the Adidas Ultra Boost. I was skeptical, I’ll be honest but they were on sale and I took the leap. I wore them on Sunday for an 11 miler and was shocked. What the????? I have no knee pain. Foam rolling wasn’t AS painful as it has been for like ever. Made me think I needed to really give these a test of grand proportion. So I took them for a 24.7 mile spin to really see how they felt.

My runs look a lot like this:

Mile 1 – went out too fast.
Miles 2-7: I hate running. Why do I do this to myself?
Mile 8-14: I love running. The happy switch was turned on and I’m good.
Mile 15+: My knees are killing me but I’ll pray that nothing snaps, breaks or cracks open rendering me immobile on the streets at 5a.

Okay so I went out in shorts and I still battled to get into my groove until around mile 8. Then I just settled in. I had no distance in mind, per usual but knew something over 20. By 22 I thought okay I better not go to much further because I do need to respect the training and not overdo it. But wait… my knees?! They weren’t throbbing. They had minimal pain. I stopped at 24.7 when I hit my front door. Wasn’t a fast run but my hr was good. My legs felt good. CRAZY! I rolled that night and no IT band pain. I woke up today and my legs felt great. I ran 7 at the gym and hiked on the treadmill (most incline that I could) for 3.5 miles. I’m in love. Seriously. I highly recommend these. Adidas Ultra Boost.

Next up…

Sometimes you need peanut butter but you don’t want all the calories or fat or if you’re like me you’ve eaten too many spoonfuls already and still need more. I love this stuff. It also comes in chocolate. Organic. Just mix it with water or I love to use it in my oatmeal, waffle/pancakes, smoothies or muffin recipes. You can find it at pretty much any grocery or health food store. You can also find it here.

And finally, I thought this was the most creative gifts out there. They use your actual fingerprint(s)! How sweet for Valentine’s Day, birthday or Mom’s day. So thoughtful and creative.You can find these here. Jewelry is always a good idea.

If I remember correctly, from your Instagram, I think you used to wear the Wave Rider? Were you having problems with them? Did the running expert you consulted with feel they weren’t a good shoe? Glad the Pegasus is working for you, I may give them a try. I like the Nike Wildhorse 3, but I wonder if the Pegasus will be too narrow in the toe box.

Hi Eliz, I used to wear Mizuno but with their updates, I opted to change. I went with Adidas Ultra Boost and Nike Pegasus. I trained for a 50 miler in both and love & recommend them both. It’s best to be fit and get an expert opinion on what is best for your foot/training/running style. Good luck! Robin

Glad the new shoes are working well for your knees. For me, finding a good shoe is the biggest challenge with running. What about the Mizuno updates didn’t work for you? You seemed to really love your Wave Riders.

I loved them but the changes were causing my knees to hurt on long distance runs (16+). Once I opened my eyes up to other sneakers again, I found that the Nike and Adidas worked much better. Good luck on the search! It is such a pain. oxo